Why we will never see another live-action Robin again (and never should)

You know, I realize that a lot of my friends think I obsess over Batman, but the truth of the matter is that I am actually a rather unapologetic Robin fanboy.  As a kid, I had a set of Robin pajamas, I was Robin at least three times for Halloween, and I watched Batman the Animated Series religiously and liked the Robin episodes the best (especially that one with Scarecrow-- man, that was awesome).  But why does Robin hold such an appeal, and why am I arguing for this character’s importance to men ages 40 and under?  Let’s explore it a bit, shall we?

A Brief History of the Boy Wonder

Robin's first appearance.

Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Batman was first introduced to the world in 1939 in DC’s Detective Comics series and quickly gained popularity.  The character had some rocky first years (including his use of a gun early on-- something the modern-day Batman would never do), but these details were ironed out fairly quickly, establishing Batman’s origin as an orphan who sought to avenge his parents and took his crime-fighting persona from his own greatest fear: the bat.  It was later explained that Batman traveled the world in his teens and twenties, learning illusionism, escape artistry, and virtually every martial art known to man.  He is a man in complete control of his body, and he uses his tremendous intellect to strike fear in the hearts of criminals-- not the sunniest character.  Looking to draw the interest of younger readers, DC introduced the character of Robin the Boy Wonder (an orphaned circus acrobat named Dick Grayson) only a year after Batman’s debut.  The plucky, wisecracking, pixie-boot-wearing sidekick soon acquired a following of his own, and the Dynamic Duo fought crime together for decades.  Beginning in the 1960s, things started to get confusing.  In 1964, Robin began working with the other DC sidekicks (Aqualad, Kid Flash, etc.) on a team that eventually evolved into the Teen Titans, taking him from the Batman’s side on a regular basis.  The 1970s were even more complicated.  With writer Dennis O’Neil looking to return Batman to being a darker solo character, Robin was sent off to college and only featured into the ends of the Batman comics in his own vignettes.  In the 1980s, the Robin mantle was passed to a new character (Jason Todd), and this is where things start to get outright bizarre, so let me go into a little more detail.  There are three important Robins to keep track of from here on out:

1) Dick Grayson (1940-1983)

2) Jason Todd (1983-1988)

3) Tim Drake (1989-2009)

Yeah, yeah, I know: Stephanie Brown wore the Robin suit for a little while, but I prefer to forget that chapter in Batman history, and I know that Bruce Wayne’s illegitimate son Damian is currently acting as Robin and blah blah blah, but as far as the formational period of my childhood and adolescence, these are the big three: Dick, Jason, Tim.  That’s it.  That’s Robin.

Dick Grayson- A Boy Wonder All Grown Up

Dick Grayson as Nightwing

As previously mentioned, Dick Grayson is the orphaned son of a family of circus acrobats known as The Flying Graysons.  At ten years old, Dick’s parents were killed by a mob enforcer named Tony Zucco who was eventually brought to justice by Batman, and Dick himself was adopted by Bruce Wayne and taken on as a sidekick to the Dark Knight.  Though serious about crime-fighting and well trained by the Batman, Grayson brought a certain lightheartedness to the Batman comics, often making jokes as he and Batman pursued criminals.  Serving as Robin throughout his adolescence and early college years, Dick eventually grew out of the role and --depending on which authors you read-- was either fired by Batman or resigned from his role as the Boy Wonder.  Initially, DC showed a peaceful transition between the Robins, with Grayson voluntarily handing the mantle over to a successor, but more recent comics show heightened tension between Batman and Robin that eventually results in Dick leaving and becoming his own man.  Some versions of the story even feature Dick burning his old Robin costume before taking on the identity of Nightwing.  After several disastrously hideous costume redesigns (including a tragic mullet), he wound up looking something like this.  Relations with the Batman did improve over time, and Nightwing worked with him frequently throughout the 90s and 2000s.  Dick even filled in for Batman when he was recovering from a difficult battle with the super-strong Bane, and when Bruce Wayne was assumed dead in 2009, Dick assumed the mantle of Batman (which he still holds).

Jason Todd- That Lame One Who Died and Came Back to Life and Like Became a Bad Guy and Stuff

Jason Todd as The Red Hood

First appearing in 1983, the next Robin was the remarkably unpopular Jason Todd.  While Jason originally had an origin story almost identical to Dick’s (orphaned circus acrobat yada yada yada), this was soon rewritten as a somewhat darker story.  While out patrolling the city one night, Batman left the Batmobile parked in a nearby alley and, upon returning to the vehicle, found the young Jason stealing its tires.  Feeling sympathy for the orphaned delinquent, Batman took him in as his next Robin, hoping to teach him right from wrong and save him from a life of crime.  Lacking much of Grayson’s finesse and self-control, Jason was an insufferable smartass whose cheesy dialogue and irritating personality were abhorred by fans.  Realizing that they had created a very unpopular character, DC launched a groundbreaking campaign: fans were given two 1-900 numbers to call-- one if they wanted Jason to live and one if they wanted Jason to be killed off.  Though the vote was close, the result was clear.  In the 1988 “A Death in the Family” storyline, the Joker brutally murdered Jason Todd by repeatedly beating him with a crowbar and blowing up the warehouse in which he was holding the Boy Wonder.  Motivated by a mingling of grief and guilt, Batman preserved Jason’s Robin costume, putting it on display in the Batcave as a memorial to his fallen sidekick-- an inspiration for Batman to become that much more dedicated to his crusade against crime.  Of course, comic writers have this horrible tendency of never allowing a character to stay dead, and Jason is no exception.  Jason later came back from the dead due to a plot device so idiotic that I won’t even bother to explain it, but you should Wikipedia “Superboy-Prime” sometime.  It is seriously the dumbest concept that comic writers have ever conceived, and I think that Geoff Johns and Judd Winick should each be forced to kill and eat a puppy for their roles in this fiasco.  I digress.  Jason returned to life and became the murderous crime boss/vigilante Red Hood (pictured), who sought to take over Gotham City’s underworld as part of his own twisted one-man war on crime.  I have to admit that I find the Red Hood concept and character design pretty cool, but I still think that DC committed a major snafu by using absurd plot devices to bring back a character so unpopular that fans had previously voted to kill him.  Regardless, Batman was without a partner for a while before he was approached by a third Robin, who is arguably the strongest character of the three.

Tim Drake- The Best One?

Tim Drake in the redesigned Robin costume

1989 saw the introduction of Tim Drake.  At only nine years old, Tim was able to deduce Batman and Robin’s secret identities by watching news footage of the Dynamic Duo.  Tim identified Dick Grayson as Robin based on the hero’s unusual acrobatic prowess (particularly Robin’s performance of a quadruple somersault, one of Grayson’s signature tricks), so it seemed logical to Tim that Bruce Wayne must be Batman.  When the death of Jason Todd and the sudden absence of Robin coincided, it confirmed Tim’s theory that Batman and Bruce Wayne were one and the same.  Tim approached Bruce Wayne about his dual identity and soon became the third Robin.  Bruce Timm (creator of Batman the Animated Series) once commented of Robin’s costume that “the thing is so colorful that he might as well have a bull’s-eye on his chest,” so one of the efforts taken with the Tim Drake incarnation of the character was to make his costume more practical for a superhero.  The whimsical pixie shoes and bare legs were replaced by a utilitarian thermal Kevlar-weave unitard and combat boots.  The bright yellow cape was given a black exterior so that Robin could easily blend into the shadows rather than standing out like a target.  A collapsible bo staff was added to Robin’s standard array of weapons, and this Boy Wonder was given a far more extensive training regimen than either of his predecessors.

Tim Drake as Red Robin

Tim brought new complications to the character of Robin because, unlike Dick and Jason, Tim was not an orphan.  For his first several years as Robin, the new Boy Wonder had to find creative excuses for his late nights and long absences so that his parents would not learn of his secret identity as Batman’s sidekick.  Tim also had to balance high school and a tricky romantic life.  While Dick Grayson had limited his dating to other superheroes (Batgirl, Starfire, etc.), Tim dated classmates and had to find inventive ways to keep his role as Robin a secret.  As Tim matured, and he suffered great tragedies in his personal life.  During the “War Games” story arc, Tim experienced the death of his girlfriend (Stephanie Brown) who was attempting to mimic his superhero lifestyle, and Tim also had to endure the murder of his father, making him an orphan like his mentor.  Like the other Robins, Tim was then adopted by Bruce Wayne and even accepted Bruce’s last name (making him the first Robin to take the Wayne name), but the two maintained a somewhat strained relationship.  Unlike Dick and Jason, Tim was written with the mentality that he would be a free-standing character not totally dependent on Batman.  Much of Tim’s time as Robin involved working apart from Batman, whether it was with the Teen Titans or simply out on his own.  Batman has openly admitted that Tim is the most competent of the Robins (the foremost in both his fighting prowess and detective skills), but even Tim did not retain the role forever.  Following Bruce Wayne’s disappearance in 2009, Dick Grayson assumed the role of Batman and took Bruce’s illegitimate son Damian as the new Robin.  Though Dick and Tim have always shared a brotherly relationship, Dick explained that, because of Damian’s violent and unpredictable nature, Dick needs to keep him close in order to control him.  Now seventeen years old, Tim has assumed a new costumed identity, Red Robin (pictured), and is now primarily a solo crime-fighter.

The Appeal of Robin

The appeal of Robin is surprisingly simple.  The character was first introduced to humanize Batman, but in truth, the main purpose he serves is to engage those of us who aren’t borderline-superhuman ninjas.  I hate to say it, but when done right, Batman is somewhat less than relatable.  He’s the way he is because of decades of training and emotional trauma, the likes of which the average reader simply cannot comprehend.  He has a genius-level intellect (arguably the smartest person in the DC comicbook universe), is in peak physical condition, possesses utterly unflappable nerves, and has trained in virtually every martial art known to man.  No one can be Batman except for Batman himself.  For those of you who don’t read comics or watch cartoons, this topic was covered in The Dark Knight when a group of vigilantes in hockey pads tried unsuccessfully to imitate Batman.  Of course, Batman gave an unsatisfying answer in that particular encounter, attesting that his superior body armor made him more qualified when, really, it was his years of training and self-discipline, but I have a lot of complaints about those movies that I will address later; this is supposed to be about Robin and why the character is appealing.  Here goes:

Robin was cool because I could be Robin.

Yep, it’s that simple.  Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake didn’t have to train all over the world like Batman did.  Sure, they had some traumatic experiences in their lives, but there was none of the same emotional turmoil that Batman endured.  Rather, the Robins were plucked from society and raised by Batman.  Anybody could become Robin, so Robin is a character with whom readers --and young readers in particular-- can sympathize.  This is becoming even more apparent in the current run of Batman comics.  Lately, Batman has become almost godlike in his detective abilities and intellectual prowess, so current writers of the Batman books are flooding their pages with more and more minor characters to give readers people to whom they can relate.  Of course, this is a process that began way back in 1940 with the introduction of Robin, and it is still at its most effective when involving a Batman-Robin/mentor-mentee dynamic.  For that reason, some variation of the Bruce Wayne-Dick Grayson pairing continues to be the staple of televised Batman cartoons (most recently the new Young Justice series whose feet I will get around to kissing later).  Of course, translating Robin to other media has presented plenty of problems over the years too.  Because it would take too much time and destruction of other people’s cherished childhood memories, I’m not going to address the Adam West Batman series, but let’s go ahead and talk about some other attempts to take the Dynamic Duo from comic panel to television screen.

Chris Nolan Is Overrated

Yeah, I said it.  The truth of the matter is that I’ve felt kind of underwhelmed by the Chris Nolan Batman movies so far.  They’re not terrible by any means, but, from the standpoint of a lifelong Batman fan, I feel like they’re just not as great as everyone says.  Sure, Batman Begins provided a really neat reimagining of Batman’s origin story, and I was willing to look the other way on a lot of Batman’s actions since he was just starting out.  A Batmobile that’s the size of a tank and covered in guns?  A Batsuit that is pretty much armor?  Jumping right out and taking bullets to the chest rather than lurking in the shadows?  I’m willing to look the other way when a rookie Batman does this stuff, but when The Dark Knight rolled around and Batman was still doing a lot of those same un-Batman-like things a couple of years into his career, I found myself far less interested in the movie.  Sure, Heath Ledger’s Joker was an interesting character and provided a nice cerebral edge that really worked with the role (even though I would normally expect such behavior from the Riddler), and yeah, I felt cheated when Two-Face sort of appeared out of nowhere and got killed off just as quickly, but still, the main character being misrepresented here is the Bat himself.  The scene that still gets to me is where Batman tells the would-be vigilantes that “These aren’t hockey pads.”  I just can’t imagine Batman talking about his equipment as what distinguishes him from any other person.  A more appropriate response might have been a variation of the classic Frank Miller line, “I’m the goddamn Batman.”  Of course, I think that even this would have been cheapened by Christian Bale’s horrible rasping Batman voice.  Yes, I understand that Batman changes his voice when he dons the cape and cowl in order to protect his identity, but I could barely contain my laughter in the theater during Bale’s farcically-intense monologues during The Dark Knight.

What I’m really getting at is this: DC superheroes have had such a distinguished run in comics and cartoons that their film adaptations will never measure up.  Batman is DC and Warner Brothers’ most successful superhero film franchise hands-down, but even these films have not perfectly captured the essence of the character.  Of course, while Batman gets abused by his own films, Robin has taken a far worse beating.  (See, I didn’t let my exhaustion with Chris Nolan derail my attention too much.)  Nolan has sworn that, so long as he controls Batman, Robin will not appear on screen again.  Honestly, I don’t blame him for this.  Nolan is doing everything in his power to establish a gritty tone for the Batman films, so introducing a wisecracking, adventure-loving, teenaged sidekick in a bright red and yellow costume would almost totally derail his interpretation of Batman.  Also, let’s not forget what happened the last time they tried to capture Robin on film.

Joel Schumacher Does to Superheroes What Cruella De Vil Does to Dalmations

Wow, two puppy-killing references in one post.  What’s with me today?  Also, I’m going to go ahead and note that, from here on out, I’ll be talking almost exclusively about the Dick Grayson iteration of Robin since that’s all filmmakers and animators seem to care about.

And it only got worse from here.

I’m sorry to say it, and please understand that I’m having to crucify a pretty vital part of my own childhood here, but Batman Forever sucked.  I know that I thought it was amazing at the time and that I watched it a minimum of three times a week once it came out on VHS, but I was also eight, and my sensibilities regarding both film and superheroes had not yet matured.  This movie was riddled with problems.  (Oof, I did not just make that pun.)  Honestly, Val Kilmer was a pretty sweet Batman.  He could play both the charming billionaire and the brooding Bat pretty well, and I thought that adding glasses to his Bruce Wayne persona was a nice touch that made him appear less threatening (no doubt borrowed from the Clark Kent school of fashion).  On the other hand, Nicole Kidman’s character struck me as really flat and uninteresting (almost as bad as Katie Holmes in Batman Begins).  Two-Face was completely bastardized.  And Jim Carrey’s Riddler was just plain awful.  If Heath Ledger’s Joker felt a little Riddler-esque, it’s nothing compared to the character-confusion going on in Carrey’s Riddler, who was one of the cheapest Joker knockoffs I’ve ever seen.  Every minute that he is on screen is utterly excruciating.  Of the many roles in his career for which Jim Carrey should be forced to apologize, this may very well be #1.  Batman the Animated Series had done such a superb job of reinventing the Riddler as this suave intellectual, and then along comes Carrey in his question-marked-covered green spandex jumpsuit and ruins everything!  I’m sorry, but being in The Grinch wasn’t penance enough for this guy.  You shouldn’t get to play a character this bad and then date Jenny McCarthy!  That is not justice!  Carrey must pay!  We should force him to be in a Cable Guy 2 just to add to his public humiliation!  CARREY MUST PAY!

Wow, sorry.  I guess that had been building up for a while.  Where was I?  Oh, right.  Robin.

Chris O'Donnell as Robin

Chris O’Donnell’s Robin is a travesty in this movie, and right behind Carrey’s Riddler (CURSE YOU, CARREY!), he’s probably the thing that bothers me the most about this film.  First of all, if you’re going to include Robin, you can’t jump straight to his twenties.  The idea behind Robin is that Bruce is a surrogate father to him, so having him be as old as O’Donnell just doesn’t work.  Even though child actors are a kiss of death for many films, a Robin origin story does not work unless the character carries with him the fear and uncertainty of a recently-orphaned child or young teen.  Robin’s initial trepidation and inexperience are what make him a relatable and interesting character.  Far from being a scared kid, O’Donnell’s Robin is a headstrong and stupid young adult.  Sure, Robin should be brave, but O’Donnell’s character rushes headlong into anything remotely dangerous and goes out of his way to make trouble.  This would probably be okay for Jason Todd, but O’Donnell is supposed to be playing the traditional Dick Grayson Robin!  I will admit that playing up the conflict between Batman and Robin is a good move, but you can’t have that conflict when you’ve only just introduced the character!  The conflict between Batman and Robin is one that develops over years of working together as the two start to diverge in their approaches to fighting crime, so having them bicker like petty children from the character’s introduction just doesn’t work.  Although I guess I’m getting ahead of myself a little; I’m already diving headlong into the train wreck that was Batman and Robin, a film so terrible that even Alicia Silverstone in a Batgirl costume couldn’t save it.

Chris O'Donnell with mouth open.

In truth, there was only one thing that Batman and Robin did right.  In spite of the idiotic dialogue, in spite of the unsympathetic villains, in spite of the drastically misinterpreted characters, in spite of the ridiculous  and unbelievable Bat-gadgets, in spite of the nipples on the outsides of the rubber costumes, at least they made the Robin suit (pictured) look like the modern Nightwing costume, and that little bit of fan service managed to make me smile for just a few seconds before I was again reduced to wailing and gnashing of teeth as I saw my favorite characters getting disemboweled on screen.  Incidentally, Jim Carrey is to the Riddler as Arnold Schwarzenegger is to Mr. Freeze, but because the entire movie was such a disaster, he stands out less against the other garbage.  Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin will probably go down in history as the worst superhero film ever made.  Seriously, that horrible Wolverine movie was better than this.  I would sooner sit through Ang Lee’s Hulk again before giving this movie another chance.  In an era where a darker Batman had boosted comic sales, where Tim Burton’s first brooding Batman film still loomed as the ideal superhero narrative, and where Bruce Timm’s Batman the Animated Series had seamlessly combined superheroes and film noir storytelling in what remains one of the most intelligent “children’s shows” of all time, in pranced Joel Schumacher and set the genre back decades.  Even with the popularity of the Chris Nolan Batman films, I think DC is still reeling from the horrors that Schumacher brought about.  Over a decade later, DC is still barely releasing a trickle of films compared to the Marvel juggernaut, and even their more lighthearted heroes (e.g. Superman) are given darker and “more mature” storylines.  Project after project has been tabled.  Justice League: Mortal, Green Arrow: Super-Max, the proposed Wonder Woman film-- all of them put on the shelf never to be heard from again, and my theory is that DC is just that terrified of accidentally unleashing another Batman and Robin on the world.  Fourteen years later, they are finally making what appears to be a more lighthearted Green Lantern film (even though the trailer reveals that there will be substantial character growth/bildungsroman/blah blah Iron Man clone), so we’ll see if DC gets over their film yips or not.  (Incidentally, my money is on not, but that’s a rant for another day, and Gary Mitchell and Zack Rider can argue it way better than I can.)  Of course, in spite of his failed attempts at the silver screen, there is one sphere of entertainment where Robin has been a phenomenal success, so now that I’ve iced Batman and Robin (wow, can’t believe I just said that-- I’ve really spent too much time on this movie), let’s move on.

Cartoons-- Where Robin Belongs

An image that still haunts the nightmares of comic nerds like myself.

Given that Schumacher mangled the character and Nolan refuses to include him at all, that means that the most “successful” live-action Robin adaptation (and, believe me, I can’t put enough quotation marks around “successful”) remains the campy, cheesy Adam West Batman show from the 1960s.  Remember that era of darker Batman comics in the 1970s that I mentioned earlier?  Yeah, that was the backlash from this.  I know that the show has a serious following even today, but happy-go-lucky just doesn’t work for Batman.  As I’ve said repeatedly already, Robin’s purpose in the Batman comics is to provide a more lighthearted counterpoint and to be a relatable character by contrast to the grim Bat.  With a cheerful Batman, Robin is unnecessary, so while I know that the show has its fans, I am not among them.  I love the darker storytelling, so playing Batman up to be so comedic just doesn’t work for me, and I think that there’s a reason that DC keeps including Adam West in their animated adaptations of Batman: they’re making fun of themselves.  While DC’s movie writers are about as brave as a two-year-old sticking his toe into the shallow end of a pool, DC’s cartoon writers have got to be the most courageous bunch of self-parodying geniuses out there.  They have masterfully depicted Robin in several different series, particularly Batman: The Animated Series, The Batman, and now Young Justice.

Drawing heavily on the Dennis O’Neil comics and incorporating elements of film noir (effectively making every episode a hardboiled detective story), Bruce Timm’s Batman: The Animated Series showed the world what a superhero cartoon could be.  For the most part, the show did not acknowledge the existence of other super-powered superheroes and existed solely within Gotham City, where the Batman battled every class of criminal, from drug-dealing crime bosses to the insane inmates of Arkham Asylum.  Without a bunch of people flying around in tights all the time (save for the Batman himself of course), the show’s demand on its audience for suspension of disbelief was quite low, making the show that much more entertaining.  With the exception of the Joker --whose identity and insanity were almost never explained except in oblique references to his origin--, every villain was given a sympathetic and interesting backstory.  Some villains (Two-Face in particular) even appeared in multiple episodes as supporting characters before succumbing to lives of crime; unlike the cheesy villains of the Joel Schumacher Batman films, these were characters about whom viewers cared.  The Mr. Freeze episode even won an Emmy for their sympathetic reinterpretation of the character!  I could praise this show forever, so let’s get back to the Robin side of things.

Robin in Batman: The Animated Series

Robin featured into very few episodes of the show (as Dick Grayson was off studying at Gotham University, fitting with the Dennis O’Neil comic run), but the episodes in which he appeared were spectacular.  In particular, the two-part episode “Robin’s Reckoning” (which also won an Emmy) depicted Robin’s origins and showed that, while Batman and Robin share a surrogate father-son relationship, the two have their tense moments.  In this episode, Tony Zucco (the murderer of Robin’s parents) resurfaces after years on the run, and Batman forbids Robin from participating in the manhunt for Zucco.  Throughout the episode, Robin’s origin is explained in flashback, and while Zucco is present as a villain, the real tension exists in the emotionally-distant Batman’s struggle to be a father figure to the orphaned Grayson.  Borrow this from me some time because it’s too good (and --dare I say it-- touching) for me to give away the ending.  Suffice it to say, this is easily the most humanized and engaging portrayal of the Batman-Robin relationship that has ever been captured on screen.  Admittedly, this version of Robin is still not perfect.  There were problems early on with the color palette that sometimes rendered the shadows on his costume as a strange teal, and . . . well, that’s actually all I can think of.  The coloring was weird.  That is my only criticism.  Wow, that was one amazing TV show.

The follow-up series (The New Batman Adventures) lacked some of this gritty and original storytelling since, at that point, the show’s creative team was working on two other TV shows (Superman: The Animated Series and the futuristic Batman Beyond).  At least The New Batman Adventures did beautifully depict Robin’s transformation into Nightwing, showing the fight between Batman and Robin unfold on a rooftop after their apprehension of the Joker (during which Batman had endangered the life of Batgirl and beaten a criminal for information in front of the man’s son).  Robin, fed up with Bruce’s quasi-sadistic approach to crime-fighting, punches Batman in the face, throws down his mask and cape, and storms away never to don the Robin suit again.  Sure, this scene is no “Robin’s Reckoning,” but it’s still effectively done, being told in flashback by the jaded Nightwing to the young and enthusiastic new Robin (an amalgamation of Tim Drake and Jason Todd).

Robin in The Batman

While Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures set the standard for the character, a bevy of animated Robins have appeared since then.  The anime-mimicking Teen Titans introduced a Robin who was still in his teen years but working solo.  There were only oblique references to this Robin’s real identity (which could be assumed to be Dick Grayson based on context clues since he never appeared out of costume), and the name “Batman” was never even mentioned.  The goal here was to create a Robin who existed independently of Batman, but that was never the purpose of the Dick Grayson Robin, so despite being good wholesome fun, this show sort of missed the mark.  This Robin’s costume design did appear again though, adapted by Cartoon Network’s The Batman, a sort of reboot that showed Batman’s early years (beginning with his third year behind the mask).  This particular Robin (pictured) was highly enjoyable because he highlighted the character’s wisecracking and fun-loving nature without ever becoming clichéd or obnoxious.  Given his extreme youth by comparison to other depictions of Robin, he also forced Batman to become very much a father figure, creating some excellent interplay between the two as Bruce tries to be patient in training the impetuous Robin.  Of course, then Batman: The Brave and the Bold came out and focused almost exclusively on the conflict between Batman and Robin, having Robin move away to the nearby city of Bludhaven in order to prove his worth as a solo crime-fighter (and, incidentally, this is true to the comics since Bludhaven is normally Nightwing’s stomping ground).  Still, this version of the character came off as petty and vindictive, but all that is okay now because of the newest version of Robin to grace my TV screen.

I Freakin’ Love Young Justice

I can’t stop watching this show.  We’re only about seven episodes in, and I’ve had them playing on a loop on youtube for the better part of a week now.  This show is unbelievable.  Here we have a TV show that has found the perfect balance between Robin’s partnership with the more mature Batman and his role on a team of young superheroes.  In this version, a thirteen-year-old Dick Grayson (who, on Batman’s advice, never reveals his identity to his teammates) teams up with five other teenaged sidekicks to operate as a “junior Justice League” of sorts.  The premise is that the recently-formed Justice League gets so much publicity nowadays that they are greatly hampered in their ability to carry out covert operations.  Enter three teenaged sidekicks (Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash) who get fed up with their mentors’ unwillingness to admit them to full membership in the Justice League, so their response is to commit the superhero equivalent of stealing the car keys: they go on their own mission.  Though displeased with the young heroes’ rash actions, Batman sees the benefit of their continuing to work together as a team, and Young Justice is born.  Like Teen Titans or the Justice League TV series, the show plays on the tension of a newly-formed (and not quite functional) superhero team in order to keep the episodes fresh and interesting, but unlike either of those series, the show also deals with the sidekicks’ varying levels of discomfort at remaining in their mentors’ shadows.  For example, Aqualad must deal with the fact that Aquaman is not just his mentor, but also his king (something which forces him to be far more deferent and respectful than his teammates).  Superboy, on the other hand, can barely get Superman to acknowledge his existence, and many of his actions are rooted in a desperate attempt to prove his worth to his would-be mentor.

And then there’s Robin.  OMG, Robin.

Robin in Young Justice

From a standpoint of character design alone, this is one of the best Robins ever (if not the best).  Taking a page from the Batman Begins school of design, the show’s creators made a conscious effort to have their characters’ costumes be as practical as possible.  Kid Flash’s costume possesses extra padding to protect him from high-speed impacts.  Aqualad’s costume is sleek and hydrodynamic with built-in fins for easier underwater movement.  You get the idea.  In the Boy Wonder’s case, all that flashy, obnoxious green has been removed from Robin’s costume, limiting him to the most basic and utilitarian red, black, and yellow.  The costume’s red chest maintains the robin motif, but the heightened amounts of black make his frequent disappearances into the shadows more dramatic.  The shoes are a nice, subtle throwback to the oldschool pixie boots from the first versions of the character, but the color and increased tread hint that these are more intended for heightened mobility in fighting.  Careful thought has even been given to the gloves, which possess increased padding, not just for fighting, but to house an onboard computer and other various crime-fighting tools (not to mention being a nice foreshadowing of the glove storage compartments that Dick Grayson will later utilize as Nightwing).  Of course, while all of this is cool, the most impressive features lie in how the character has been developed.

So many great stories start in medias res and then reveal things about a character through their actions before a backstory is ever needed, and such is the case with this interpretation of Robin.  We are told upfront that, despite being the youngest member of the team, Robin is by far the most experienced, having worked with Batman for around four years now.  Elements of the Batman’s style can be seen through Robin’s behavior (such as his insistence on having his utility belt with him at all times), but nowhere is this more apparent than with his frequent disappearances.  Like Batman, Robin will often vanish from the scene to sneak off and do his own reconnaissance, but unlike Batman, all of Robin’s disappearances are accompanied by an echoing, high-pitched laugh.  Without having to give some elaborate narration about his circus life or his relationship to Batman, this one recurring character trait tells us almost everything we need to know about this version of Robin.  He is seeking to be like Batman, but at the same time, there is a certain joy that he has while sneaking around and fighting crime (an emotion that his mentor never reveals).  In addition to highlighting his theatrical nature acquired from a circus upbringing, the laughter also reflects Robin’s willingness to put his own stamp on something that people associate with Batman, and it showcases his delight in toying with criminals’ minds in a more playful fashion than Batman does (like a Robin picking at a worm).  While the Bat might make people wonder if he is lurking somewhere in the darkness, Robin makes his presence openly known without giving away his location.  The tactic is at the same time intimidating and humorous, and a certain childlike delight has started to fill me whenever I hear that laugh on the show because I know that Robin has just pulled a disappearing act.  I digress.  This is what good storytelling looks like: a single action, if portrayed properly, can tell us everything we need to know about a character.  For that reason, I’m going to go ahead and make a bold statement: in spite of my loyalties to Batman: The Animated Series, this is the most well-done Robin.  Through his interactions with both his team and his mentor, we get a very thorough analysis of what it is like to be raised by Batman but retain a fun-loving side.  I cannot wait to watch as this character continues to develop.

Addendum: The most recent episode (“Downtime”) featured one of the most poignant Batman and Robin interactions I’ve ever seen.  When Batman devotes extra attention to Aqualad’s training, Dick grows angry and storms off to exercise alone.  Now out of costume, Bruce demands Dick’s presence outside Wayne Manor for “hand-eye coordination training,” and when Dick arrives, Bruce smiles and tosses him a basketball.  See that, Chris Nolan?  It’s okay for Batman to be human.  He’s the closest thing Robin has to a father, and Robin is the closest thing he has to a son.  Sure, these interactions will always be a little awkward for Batman (given that this might be the first time he’s smiled in eight episodes of the show), but he still makes the effort.

The Future of Robin

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Robin should never be in a live-action movie again.  Really.  I mean it.  Given that Batman barely translates to film (see previous criticisms of Nolan and Schumacher), trying to adapt a tights-clad teenage sidekick to a live-action arena will never be a successful endeavor.  The only area where Robin can be realistically adapted from the comics is in cartoons, and what an amazing series of adaptations we’ve had!  Robin’s youth and relatability as a character make him a natural fit for shows aimed at kids (not to mention teens and adults as well), and his sense of humor provides a much needed break from the intensity of Batman.  Robin is at his most effective as a character when he is working at Batman’s side, so I am happy to see the most recent iterations of the Boy Wonder focusing so heavily on that aspect.

Sadly, this just doesn't work in movies.

As far as the comics themselves go, with the increasing complexity of comic storylines and the fact that we now have three former Robins patrolling the streets of Gotham City along with the newest one (Damian Wayne), it’s getting so that you can’t stop a mugger without bumping into at least two or three other superheroes.  I’m glad we have a less convoluted medium in cartoons.  With so many characters with such complicated histories, it’s getting harder and harder to tell a truly compelling story in comicbooks due to all the baggage that each hero brings to the table.  More and more, I’m coming to believe that the comicbook medium is becoming increasingly arcane and esoteric and that televised cartoons make for a much better medium when telling these stories.  The best part is that, because cartoons tend to have about a three or four year run before cancellation, animators can reboot a continuity pretty much whenever they want, while comic writers have been forced to come up with all sorts of absurd continuity-changing plot devices, ranging from parallel dimensions to deals with the devil to all sorts of other stupid schlock (again, search “Superboy-Prime” on Wikipedia-- worst comic idea ever).  I digress.

Now that Tim Drake no longer possesses the mantle of Robin in the comics, my attachment to the character has waned considerably.  The Robin from my upbringing is no longer Robin, so my investment in the character just isn’t there anymore.  On the other hand, when I was watching Batman: The Animated Series as a kid, my Robin was Dick Grayson, and since this is the Robin still appearing in virtually every cartoon adaptation, I will always maintain strong ties to the character in that medium.  If only there were a way for comics to be cancelled and rebooted as often as cartoons.  So many of my problems with the medium would evaporate.  For now, let’s just rejoice that the writers of cartoons have continued to be so innovative, and I look forward to seeing where Young Justice takes the character of Robin next (because it sure won’t be onto the big screen anytime soon).  Now, Mr. Nolan, if you wanted to do a Nightwing movie that started out with an adult Dick Grayson and had occasional flashbacks to his youth spent at Batman’s side, that could actually make a phenomenal movie, but that is a rant for another day.